OREGON STATE FACES TOP SEED NEXT
Aleah Goodman scored 24 points with five rebounds, five assists and zero turnovers, Taylor Jones added 18 points and eight boards, and No. 8seed Oregon State beat ninthseeded Florida State 83-59 on Sunday in the opening round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Oregon State (12-7) advances to play the top seed in the Hemisfair Region, South Carolina, while Florida State (10-9) is exiting after the first round for the first time in its last 17 appearances.
Oregon State scored 20 of the first 26 points of the second quarter, including an 11-0 run, to take the first doubledigit lead of the game after a 16-all first. Goodman scored seven of her 14 first-half points during the spurt. Goodman also had four rebounds and three assists and Jones added 11 points with seven rebounds as Oregon State built a 41-27 lead.
“I’m just so proud of this team, especially after the first quarter, I feel like we kind of had a little bit of a feel-out quarter, and then we just came out in the second quarter we really locked down,” Goodman said. “The defense, especially I think through quarters, two, three and four were just special. That’s really something we’ve been harping on.”
Oregon State opened a 20point lead midway through the third quarter as Florida
State made only one of its first six shots following halftime. Goodman only played four minutes in the fourth and Jones three.
No. 1 South Carolina 79, No. 16 Mercer 53: South Carolina coach Dawn Staley got her 500th career victory when Aliyah Boston and the Gamecocks beat Mercer. Staley is 328-102 in 13 seasons at South Carolina, after going 172-80 in eight seasons at Temple.
No. 5 Georgia Tech 54, Stephen F. Austin 52 (OT): Lorela Cubaj recovered from a scary fall to score 14 points, including the go-ahead free throws in overtime, and Georgia Tech (16-8) overcame a 17point halftime deficit to beat Stephen F. Austin (24-3).
No. 4 West Virginia 77, Lehigh 53: Kysre Gondrezick scored 26 points to lead West Virginia (22-6) past Lehigh (11-5).
Mercado Region
No. 1 N.C. State 79, No. 16
North Carolina A&T 58: Jada Boyd scored 15 of her 18 points in the second half and North Carolina State (21-2) overcame a slow start to beat North Carolina A&T (14-3) in the first round.
No. 8 South Florida 57, No. 9 Washington State 53: Elena Tsineke scored 18 points to help South Florida (19-3) get past Washington State (1212).
River Walk Region
No. 1 Connecticut 102, No. 16 High Point 59: UConn did just fine without coach Geno Auriemma, with Paige Bueckers scoring 24 points to lead the Huskies (25-1) to an easy win over High Point (22-7).
No. 2 Baylor 101, No. 15 Jackson State 52: Moon Ursin scored a career-high 24 points and Baylor (26-2) routed Jackson State (19-6).
No. 3 Tennessee 87, No. 14 Middle Tennessee 62: Rennia Davis had 24 points and 14 rebounds and Tennessee (17-7) used a dominant second half to beat Middle Tennessee (17-8).
No. 4 Kentucky 71, No. 13 Idaho State 63: Rhyne Howard and Chasity Patterson scored 14 points apiece and Kentucky (18-8) beat Idaho State (22-4).
No. 5 Iowa 87, No. 12 Central Michigan 72: Freshman Caitlin Clark, the nation’s leading scorer, had 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as Iowa (19-9) beat Central Michigan (18-9).
No. 6 Michigan 87, No. 11 Florida Gulf Coast 66: Leigha Brown scored 28 points, including 17 straight for Michigan (15-5), and the Wolverines beat Florida Gulf Coast (26-3).
No. 7 Virginia Tech 70, No. 10 Marquette 63: Elizabeth Kitley had 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks as Virginia Tech (15-9 built a big lead and held off Marquette (19-7).
No. 8 Syracuse 72, No. 9 South Dakota State 55: Emily Engstler scored 18 points and made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as Syracuse (15-8) pulled away to beat South Dakota State (21-4).
Alamo Region No. 1 Stanford 87, No. 16 Utah Valley 44:
Kiana Williams scored 20 points while becoming Stanford’s career leader in made 3-pointers as the Cardinal (26-2) overwhelmed Utah Valley (13-7).
No. 8 Oklahoma State 84, No. 9 Wake Forest 61: Natasha Mack had 27 points and 15 rebounds in Oklahoma State’s (19-8) victory over Wake Forest (12-13).